Habitats listed under OSPAR Annex V - MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network

Habitats listed under OSPAR Annex V

The OSPAR Convention aims to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. Under Annex V of the convention, OSPAR developed a Strategy on the Protection and Conservation of the Ecosystems and Biological Diversity of the Maritime Area. The strategy states that the OSPAR Commission will assess which species and habitats need to be protected. An initial list of threatened and/or declining species and habitats was developed and ratified on 23 June 2003. Further detail: OSPAR Commission

Available MarLIN information on OSPAR Annex V habitats and their component biotopes is listed below, based on the JNCC rationalised list (JNCC, 2022).

Coral gardens

Discrete Lophelia pertusa colonies on Atlantic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata

Discrete Lophelia pertusa colonies on Atlantic upper bathyal rock and other hard substrata

Discrete Solenosmilia variabilis colonies on Atlantic lower bathyal coarse sediment

Discrete Solenosmilia variabilis colonies on Atlantic lower bathyal rock and other hard substrata

Mixed coral assemblage on Atlantic upper bathyal Lophelia pertusa reef framework (biogenic structure)

Acanella arbuscula assemblage on Atlantic lower bathyal mud

Acanella arbuscula assemblage on Atlantic mid bathyal mud

Caryophyllia smithii and Actinauge richardi assemblage on Atlantic upper bathyal coarse sediment

Corymorpha, Gersemia, Zoantharia and Heliometra glacialis on Arctic mid bathyal rock and other hard substrata

Deep-sea sponge aggregations

Lobose sponge and stylasterid assemblage on Atlantic upper bathyal rock and other hard substrata

Geodia and other massive sponges on Atlanto-Arctic upper bathyal coarse sediment

Geodia and other massive sponges on Atlanto-Arctic upper bathyal mixed sediment

Reteporella and Axinellid sponges on Atlantic upper bathyal rock and other hard substrata

Intertidal mudflats

Hediste diversicolor and oligochaetes in littoral mud

Hediste diversicolor and Corophium volutator in littoral mud

Hediste diversicolor and Macoma balthica in littoral sandy mud

Hediste diversicolor and Streblospio shrubsolii in littoral sandy mud

Hediste diversicolor in littoral mud

Hediste diversicolor, Macoma balthica and Scrobicularia plana in littoral sandy mud shores

Nephtys hombergii and Streblospio shrubsolii in littoral mud

Nephtys hombergii, Macoma balthica and Streblospio shrubsolii in littoral sandy mud

Tubificoides benedii and other oligochaetes in littoral mud

Intertidal Mytilus edulis beds on mixed and sandy sediments

Mytilus edulis beds on littoral mixed substrata

Mytilus edulis beds on littoral sand

Littoral chalk communities

Barnacles and fucoids on moderately exposed shores

Chrysophyceae and Haptophyceae on vertical upper littoral fringe soft rock

Blidingia spp. on vertical littoral fringe soft rock

Fucus serratus and piddocks on lower eulittoral soft rock

Fucus serratus on moderately exposed lower eulittoral rock

Osmundea pinnatifida on moderately exposed mid eulittoral rock

Ulothrix flacca and Urospora spp. on freshwater-influenced vertical littoral fringe soft rock

Lophelia pertusa reefs

Atlantic lower bathyal live Solenosmilia variabilis reef (biogenic structure)

Atlantic upper bathyal live Lophelia pertusa reef (biogenic structure)

Mixed coral assemblage on Atlantic mid bathyal Lophelia pertusa reef framework (biogenic structure)

Mixed coral assemblage on Atlantic upper bathyal Lophelia pertusa reef framework (biogenic structure)

Lophelia reefs

Maerl beds

Maerl beds

Lithothamnion corallioides maerl beds on infralittoral muddy gravel

Lithothamnion glaciale maerl beds in tide-swept variable salinity infralittoral gravel

Phymatolithon calcareum maerl beds in infralittoral clean gravel or coarse sand

Phymatolithon calcareum maerl beds with red seaweeds in shallow infralittoral clean gravel or coarse sand

Phymatolithon calcareum maerl beds with Neopentadactyla mixta and other echinoderms in deeper infralittoral clean gravel or coarse sand

Modiolus modiolus beds

Modiolus modiolus beds on open coast circalittoral mixed sediment

Modiolus modiolus beds with fine hydroids and large solitary ascidians on very sheltered circalittoral mixed substrata

Modiolus modiolus beds with hydroids and red seaweeds on tide-swept circalittoral mixed substrata

Modiolus modiolus beds with Mimachlamys varia, sponges, hydroids and bryozoans on slightly tide-swept very sheltered circalittoral mixed substrata

Ostrea edulis beds

Ostrea edulis beds on shallow sublittoral muddy mixed sediment

Sabellaria spinulosa reefs

Circalittoral Sabellaria reefs (on rock)

Sabellaria spinulosa on stable circalittoral mixed sediment

Sabellaria spinulosa, didemnids and other small ascidians on tide-swept moderately wave-exposed circalittoral rock

Sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities

Burrowing megafauna and Maxmuelleria lankesteri in circalittoral mud

Seapens and burrowing megafauna in circalittoral fine mud

Seapens, including Funiculina quadrangularis, and burrowing megafauna in undisturbed circalittoral fine mud

Kophobelemnon field on Atlantic mid bathyal mud

Kophobelemnon field on Atlantic upper bathyal mud

Zostera beds

Zostera (Zostera) marina beds on lower shore or infralittoral clean or muddy sand

Zostera (Zosterella) noltei beds in littoral muddy sand